I guess no one learns history because we keep repeating it.
Welcome to the new housing bubble! Mortgage rates hit 6%, which is the highest since 1999.
But mortgage applications are down 29% from a year ago. Yikes. Mortgage Bankers Association made the announcement:
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 12 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 83 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 12 percent compared with the previous week and was 29 percent lower than the same week one year ago.“The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit the six percent mark for the first time since 2008 – rising to 6.01 percent – which is essentially double what it was a year ago,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Higher mortgage rates have pushed refinance activity down more than 80 percent from last year and have contributed to more homebuyers staying on the sidelines. Government loans, which tend to be favored by first-time buyers, bucked this trend and increased over the week, driven mainly by VA and USDA lending activity.”Added Kan, “The spread between the conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate and both ARM and jumbo loans remained wide last week, at 118 and 45 basis points, respectively. The wide spread underscores the volatility in capital markets due to uncertainty about the Fed’s next policy moves.”The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 30.2 percent of total applications from 30.7 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 9.1 percent of total applications.
CNN says house prices remain steady. CBS News says house prices have started to fall.
I agree with CBS News. I love looking at Zillow. I’ve noticed many houses haven’t sold, and many owners dropped their prices…significantly.
It might get worse if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates next week. But then again, it’s the Federal Reserve’s job to make everything worse, right?
From CNN Business with the headline, The Fed could crash the housing market:
What’s happening: According to Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index report, housing costs rose 0.7% in August and are up 6.2% year-over-year, the largest increase since 1991.That increase was largely responsible for August’s higher-than-expected pace of inflation. Combined with a tight labor market, those high prices give the Fed reason to continue to go hard at its policy meeting next week and beyond, Marvin Loh, senior strategist at State Street, told me.The Fed needs to see housing costs ease by about half a percentage point to reach its ultimate inflation goal, Loh added.The job won’t be easy. Housing prices can remain stubbornly high, even as the Fed works to counteract them.
Stop. Interfering.
This goes for private companies, too. Apparently, those CEOs forget 2008. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the company’s plan to offer zero-down mortgages to minorities is a way “to attract all aspects of investment to underprivileged communities.”
Great. Can they afford the monthly payments, or will there be a ton of foreclosed homes the bank is stuck with when people stop making payments?
The program starts in Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Miami.
It offers loans to minority buyers without the need for a down payment, closing costs or private mortgage insurance (PMI), an extra cost that’s customary for buyers who put down less than 20% of the home’s purchase price.Crucially, the program also requires no minimum credit score, with eligibility focused instead on a borrower’s solid track record of rent payments and regular monthly bills like utilities and phone. Before applying, buyers must finish a homebuyer certification course that counsels them on ownership responsibilities and other considerations.
Great. I ask again, can they afford the monthly payments?
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY